According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, unwanted paint is the largest component of residential household hazardous waste across the country. It is estimated that 34 million gallons of leftover consumer paint is generated annually in the United States. However, this estimate does not include significant amounts of waste paint generated by contractors, retailer mis-tints, paint manufacturers, private corporations or other businesses, schools, and other public agencies.
The primary component of paint retailers' waste stream consists of unused full containers of paint that are returned as a mis-tint or other mistake. The cost of final disposition, a per container cost for either recycling or hazardous waste disposal, is very high for the retailer. Much of this paint could be re-blended and converted into paint for use by either government or private entities, particularly the unused gallons returned to retailers. However, markets for re-blended paint have not proven profitable as of yet.
Currently, latex paint is the most popular paint on the market. In 1997, $270,000 was spent collecting and recycling 1.3 million pounds of latex paint. The amount of post-consumer latex paint has grown each year, and in 2003, the quantity of latex paint collected increased to two million pounds.
This high volume of waste or unwanted latex paint in the municipal solid waste stream makes it an attractive material to recycle. Moreover, many jurisdictions prohibit waste paint disposal in a liquid state, due to its propensity to spill on route to the landfill or incinerator that may cause equipment contamination.
Latex paint is composed of 59.3% water, 15.7% latex polymer concentration, 12.5% titanium dioxide concentration, 12.5% extender pigments, and 1.1% ethylene glycol concentration. However in the 1980s and earlier, mercury was used as a preservative in latex paint. Thus, liquid waste paint collected at recycling facilities must be tested for mercury and other contaminants prior to deciding its fate: recycled for reuse or use in non-traditional products, landfill, or hazardous waste. Latex paint manufactured after the 1980s may be legally disposed of in a dried, solid form without going to a hazardous waste landfill. Drying waste paint to a solid state releases only water and fractional amounts of safe, non-organic volatiles into the environment. However it is time consuming, and requires considerable effort due to weather conditions and safety.
Thus, there is a need to develop a proactive, voluntary recycling program and technology for reusing this material while simultaneously creating financial benefits. Such a program must be successful in removing a large percentage of unused paint from the waste stream to negate the need for a mandatory or special taxation program.